GrrrArrrgh!!!

I finally finished the Corded Clutch earlier this week. I was happy to finally wrap up the project. I did the knitting in two days and then took almost a month to get the materials to complete it.

I finally bought some heavy black cloth and a great button to complete the project, and my friend Oona taught me how to sew a lining. I made a rectangular bottomed lining to fit inside the bag with heavy fabric to help it keep its shape. I’ve seen some other pictures of these clutches and they can look pretty awful without some structure and the cord is very droopy on its own.

Next, I glued some fabric to a piece of cardboard cut to fit perfectly into the lining and to give further structure and shape to the clutch.

Once it dried I glued it into the bottom of the lining, let it dry, and whip stitched the lining into the bag. Then I waited two more days to sew on the button. I just couldn’t make myself work on it. Finally, I made a small 4-strand braid from the leftover cord for the button loop, sewed on the button, and sewed in the loop.

This wasn’t a very enjoyable project. The Noro cord is really pretty but also really hard to knit with and figuring out what to do with the ends was difficult. I ended up dipping them in glue to stop them from unraveling, which was a big headache. But, it was good to learn some new sewing techniques and I’m pretty happy with the end result.

I’ve mostly been working on the Gentleman’s Shooting Stockings this week. The more I use this yarn the more I hate it. It’s terribly thick and thin and the color changes seem entirely random. There are parts of the skein that seem almost like laceweight or thread and other parts that feel as thick as DK. The different skeins don’t seem to have the same color repeats at all and I’m not thrilled with some of the color sequences.

I am enjoying the pattern and it’s the first pair of socks I’ve made with a pattern on the heel (pics to follow when I’m finished). I just can’t wait to finish and then I swear I’ll never use this yarn again. Curse you Mini Mochi! Earlier tonight I caked some Blue Moon yarn to use for my next project to wash away the bitter taste of bad yarn. I’m looking forward to using some yarn that I really love on my next project!